His Penance, My Freedom

His Penance, My Freedom

Chen Ziluo

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Two years, Alex. It's been two years. My whisper was dry, lost in the cold, vast living room where I knelt on marble, gripping his expensive trousers. For two years, since his mother' s death, this had been my life, my prison. He blamed me, twisted a lie of grief into his truth: I' d hidden her sickness for his company' s IPO. Every week, a different woman. They wore my robes, used my perfume, slept in our bed. My task: welcome, serve, clean. I swallowed humiliation because my father was sick, his treatments astronomically expensive. Alex Thorne, my husband, was my only hope. But when I begged for money, for my father on his deathbed, Alex sneered, "Let him die." "It's what he deserves for having a daughter like you." Then the hospital called: My father was gone. He took his own life, leaving a note, not wanting to be a burden. I was on my knees, begging for a life already lost. "Problem solved," Alex chirped to his current paramour, tossing my phone aside. My world shattered. He was a monster who savored my pain. Something inside me snapped. The part that endured, that hoped, broke. "No," I said, rising on shaky legs. "I want a divorce, Alex." He laughed, demanding I apologize to his mistress, then commanded me to clean toilets with a toothbrush. He was mocking me. Humiliating me. Using my deepest wounds as his amusement. But as I knelt once more, a single thought crystallised: I wouldn't just leave him. I would erase him. And when he then shoved me, triggering a terrifying pain and a warm, wet sensation, I knew my silent revolution had just begun. He might have killed my father and our unborn child, but he had just awakened the storm within me.

Introduction

Two years, Alex.

It's been two years.

My whisper was dry, lost in the cold, vast living room where I knelt on marble, gripping his expensive trousers.

For two years, since his mother' s death, this had been my life, my prison.

He blamed me, twisted a lie of grief into his truth: I' d hidden her sickness for his company' s IPO.

Every week, a different woman.

They wore my robes, used my perfume, slept in our bed.

My task: welcome, serve, clean.

I swallowed humiliation because my father was sick, his treatments astronomically expensive.

Alex Thorne, my husband, was my only hope.

But when I begged for money, for my father on his deathbed, Alex sneered, "Let him die."

"It's what he deserves for having a daughter like you."

Then the hospital called: My father was gone.

He took his own life, leaving a note, not wanting to be a burden.

I was on my knees, begging for a life already lost.

"Problem solved," Alex chirped to his current paramour, tossing my phone aside.

My world shattered.

He was a monster who savored my pain.

Something inside me snapped.

The part that endured, that hoped, broke.

"No," I said, rising on shaky legs.

"I want a divorce, Alex."

He laughed, demanding I apologize to his mistress, then commanded me to clean toilets with a toothbrush.

He was mocking me.

Humiliating me.

Using my deepest wounds as his amusement.

But as I knelt once more, a single thought crystallised: I wouldn't just leave him.

I would erase him.

And when he then shoved me, triggering a terrifying pain and a warm, wet sensation, I knew my silent revolution had just begun.

He might have killed my father and our unborn child, but he had just awakened the storm within me.

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Her Regret, His Peace

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They told me it was a contract marriage, a deal to save my mother' s life. In reality, it was my own slow death sentence. For three years, I was hired to be Chloe Davis' s husband, the man she blamed for ruining her life after her high school sweetheart dumped her. I endured her endless parade of boyfriends, her daily allowance of five dollars, and constant humiliation, all to ensure my ailing mother received the best care. Then, the day my mother died, Chloe' s assistant called, demanding I return home from the funeral to make snacks for a party. Chloe, my wife, had no idea my mother was gone. Days later, I learned the truth: my mother had committed suicide to free me, after Chloe' s cousin, Jake Stone, maliciously convinced her that she was an inescapable burden. That night, at a club, Chloe poured red wine over my head for Jake' s amusement. But the ultimate betrayal came when I collapsed from malnutrition and exhaustion. Chloe visited me in the hospital, not with concern, but to demand I take the fall for Jake' s drunk driving accident. The irony was suffocating; her own reckless driving had caused the power outage that shut down my mother' s life support, effectively killing her. "No," I told her, my voice finally firm after years of silence. "I want a divorce." Her shock was absolute; I had never defied her. Before I could escape, Jake ambushed me, confessing his role in my mother' s death, triggering a rage that landed me back in the hospital. Yet, Chloe watched as her bodyguards, on her command, broke my ribs and crushed my painting hand. Why had my life become this torment? Why had I, a quiet artist, become the target of such unbridled cruelty? I left with my mother' s ashes, leaving behind all the money, and promised myself I' d never look back.

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